Rift between Biden and SC’s Jaime Harrison? DNC chairman fights back, touts strong year
Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison fired back over the weekend at accusations that his relationship with President Joe Biden is strained because he has largely stayed in South Carolina as the president faces bad poll numbers.
The accusations, made by unnamed sources in an NBC News report, included speculation that Harrison could leave his post at the DNC before his four years are up.
“My grandpa used to say ‘if you aren’t man or woman enough to put your name on it & your reputation behind it , then it ain’t worth being said or done,’” Harrison tweeted Saturday, the same day the report was published. “There is a lot of unnamed bull---- in politics, but no one can ever say that I don’t work my ass off for what I believe in.”
Harrison defended himself, saying the DNC’s offices in Washington have been closed since 2020 because of COVID-19 concerns. The article also reported that Harrison works remotely, and spends most of his time in South Carolina instead of traveling to meet donors.
On Twitter, the South Carolina Democrat wrote that he went on a bus tour last summer across Arizona, Georgia, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Virginia. He said he also made more than 1,000 fundraising calls, participated in more than 200 one-on-one Zoom meetings with donors and attended more than 250 state party meetings.
The strain between Biden and Harrison comes as Biden sinks in the polls ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, where many fear Democrats will lose their majorities in Congress. Poll tracker FiveThirtyEight showed Biden’s disapproval rating averages around 53.1%.
But a day after the NBC News article was published, Harrison was in a celebratory mood.
Harrison, who ran unsuccessfully against U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham in 2020 for Senate, on Twitter touted the DNC’s record-breaking fundraising figures in a non-presidential year.
The DNC raised more than $150 million last year, including $23 million for state parties, $20 million for organizing staff and $25 million for voter protection and registration, Harrison tweeted. In December alone, the party brought in $10.7 million.
“Only in DC… can you break a fundraising record & have folks complain it isn’t enough,” Harrison tweeted. “That’s what the DNC did in ‘21!”
This story was originally published January 31, 2022 at 11:10 AM.
